When to make a split

[Ymbe]

I have a colony I would like to split this year as part of my swarm control/expansion plans. But when is the appropriate time to split?

I have been noticing queen cups for several weeks now, occassionally with eggs, but nothing developing into queen cells and I have read that eggs can remain in queen cups for quite some time before queen cells are developed by the bees. Can I make the split at this stage through artificial swarming and let the bees get on with it from there, or should I wait until the queen cells start to be drawn out and eggs/larvae are floating in royal jelly? How do others deal with this?

[Finsky]

I have been noticing queen cups for several weeks now, occassionally with eggs, but nothing developing into queen cells

 How do others deal with this?

It is best what you have that hive does not swarm. It ruins your yield.

You may do nuc when you bye a new laying queen and start small hive.

When honey season is over, you take from bigger hive emerging brood frames and strenghten you mini hive. So you get good wintering hive.

To take swarm queen and make a nuc, it is slow way to raise hive.
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[Brian D. Bray]

>>I have been noticing queen cups for several weeks now, occassionally with eggs, but nothing developing into queen cells and I have read that eggs can remain in queen cups for quite some time before queen cells are developed by the bees.

If the bees are not filling the cells with eggs he hive is not in the swarming mode.  Often some bees just like to keep a few cells ready while another hive might tear everything down and rebuild the comb.  The best time to split a hive is after labor day (as a marker) because this is about the time the hive switches battening down for the winter.  Capping the stores, etc.  Splitting then makes use of the bees natural instincts and, if a large hive, gives the excess bees a place to go, therby improving the chance of both split and parent hive to winter over.

[Ymbe]

Brian: Thanks for the advice - I'll keep an eye on the queen cups and note any progress.

Finsky: agree entirely, I don't want 'em to swarm.

I'm using artificial swarming to control this, when the bees tell me it's a good time, and reuniting with the new queen once she is laying up well; is this the best method if I want to maximise honey production from my colonies?

[Finsky]

is this the best method if I want to maximise honey production from my colonies?

The whole beekeeping is to maximize honey production to me. If you just like to keep bees on back yard it has no challenge or aim to learn new.

http://maarec.cas.psu.edu/PDFs/Swarm_Prev_Control_PM.pdf

Swarming season demands skill how to avoid it. There are plenty of,  not methods but acts, how to avoid swarming, and how to stop it when first sure sign step in sight. It begins when you got a new queen last summer.

The goal is still to get big hive for main yield, not swarm stopping.

I have noticed that the best way to maximize yield is to carry hives to good pastures. No matter how big or good hive you have if you have nectar very near to forage. 50% yield will go if bees must fly to the distance of  1 mile to get good loads of nectar.

I just start with my Toyota to my cottage and move half of my bee yard to outer pastures. There are dandelions in blossom and farm gardens. hey blooms 10 days.

After that we have blossom gap were we have short of bee flowers and they like to swarm. Swarming season last here about 2-3 weeks. You have seeral months. Next honey plant is raspberry.

If hive is full of honey it will swarm to morrow without any warnings. It just go and you notice egg in queen cups. That happens easily when you put small hive on rape field. It will be full in few days.